Usually when you find “religion” and “sex” in the same sentence (or on the same website), it’s bad news. Either someone’s going to hell or someone’s really pissed off that they’re being shut out or judged or sent to hell. Which is why — no matter your position on sex, religion, or hell, for that matter — the site Religious Institution is a refreshing change. It is a “multifaith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education and justice in faith communities and society.” Yep, that’s faith and sex in the same sentence — and on the same website — and no one got a black eye. The site just launched their Denominational Statements database, which lets you search and browse the official positions of major U.S. religious denominations on 20 different sex-related issues, from abortion to bisexuality to erotica to homosexuality to assisted reproduction to sex ed to “singleness.”

Thank you for this! What with the visibility of Fundamentalists & Conservative Evangelicals, and the consequent (not unjustified) demonization of religion from folks on the left, it’s easy for progressive religious people to get overlooked, or lost.

Progressive, reasonable people have religious and spiritual needs too. And in the shouting wars that often ensue, it’s always good to see that accepting places aren’t just an exception — they’re all over. You just have to find them.